College of Engineering Blog

Aligned Nanofibrous Cell-Derived Extracellular Matrix for Anisotropic Vascular Graft Construction

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Fibroblast Cell Sheet
Fibroblast Cell Sheet

Authors: Qi Xing (former postdoc researcher), Zichen Qian (PhD candidate), Mitchell Tahtinen (former undergraduate researcher), Ai Hui Yap (Houghton High School student), Keegan Yates (former undergraduate researcher), and Feng Zhao (associate professor, biomedical engineering).
Journal: Advanced Healthcare Materials

10.1002/adhm.201601333

This article describes vascular grafts, which are in great demand due to the high occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. A tissue engineered vascular graft was developed for the application of bypassing coronary arteries. It is a completely biological vascular graft, which can avoid immune rejection after transplantation. The graft is mechanically strong, which is fabricated by combining naturally derived nanofibrous biomaterials, stem cell engineering, and bioreactor technologies.

Vascular Graft Fabrication Process
Vascular Graft Fabrication Process
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Engineering Students Perform Well at 2017 Graduate Research Colloquium

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GRC 2017The 2017 Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) was held on February 15-16 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. There were oral and poster presentation. The banquet was held on the evening of February 16.

VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY

Following is a complete list of winners:

Oral Presentation Competition

  1. 1st Place: Kevin Sunderland, Department of Biomedical Engineering
  2. 2nd Place: Teresa Wilson, Department of Physics
  3. 3rd Place: Andrew Chapp, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
  4. Most Attended: Muraleekrishnan Menon, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
  5. Most Attended: Niranjan Miganakallu, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics

Poster Presentation Competition

  1. 1st Place: Matthew Kilgas, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
  2. 2nd Place: Brian Page, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
  3. 3rd Place: Zichen Qian, Department of Biomedical Engineering
  4. People’s Choice: Mugdha Priyadarshini, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Graduate Student Service Awards

  1. Gorkem Asilioglu, Department of Computer Science
  2. Hossein Tavakoli, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  3. Kate Glodowski, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
  4. Erin Pischke, Department of Social Sciences

The GRC is held each year by the Graduate Student Government at Michigan Tech.

New ideas, cutting edge research and innovative solutions coming from U.P.

HOUGHTON — New ideas, cutting edge research, innovative solutions. ABC 10’s Keweenaw Bureau Reporter Rick Allen has more on the latest research projects by Michigan Tech graduate students.

Underwater researchers will be interested in a less costly, more maneuverable glider that can be used in Lake Superior.

MTU Mechanical Engineering PhD Student Donna Fard said,

They are shallow–water gliders, meaning that we can use them in the lake. What we have so far, they’re all ocean–going gliders.

Read more and watch the video at ABC10 UP, by Rick Allen.

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Robin Johnson-Cash Speaks on Social Justice

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Johnson-CashHOUGHTON — Robin Johnson-Cash spoke at Michigan Technological University’s Alumni Room of the Memorial Union Building on campus Tuesday evening, February 14, 2017. She was the featured speaker of Michigan Tech’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion’s Improved Social Justice Lecture Series.

Johnson-Cash, the first African-American woman to earn a PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics (MMEM), offered some insightful advice to the students who were present for her talk.

First, recognize your gift. You have a unique talent that is unmistakeable. —Robin Johnson-Cash

Read more at the Daily Mining Gazette, by Graham Jaehnig.

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Michigan Tech Celebrates National Engineers Week

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HELP US CELEBRATE EWEEK 2017! 

     National Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. For the past 60 years, National Engineers Week has been celebrated each February around the time of George Washington’s birthday, February 22, because Washington is considered by many to be the first US engineer.

     Tech’s events during Engineers Week, (Feb. 18-25), are again sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, the local chapter of the Engineering Honor Society.

     National Engineers Week, also known as Eweek, begins on a sweet note at Michigan Tech with an ice cream social from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 18) in the Wadsworth Dining Hall.

     Things get rolling at noon Monday, (Feb. 20) with the pep band in front of the Husky statue. The iconic statue will be dressed in a lab coat and bow tie all week. The Green Campus Enterprise will have a rocket stove demo from 12:45 to 3 p.m. outside of Fisher Hall. The Mind Trekkers will be in the Dow Atrium from 1 to 3 p.m. with hands-on demonstrations. From 6 to 7 p.m. the Blue Marble Security enterprise will present a heart rate circuit board.

     Questions? Contact Morgan Herzog, Tau Beta Pi public relations officer, and/or Julia Zayan, president.

 

2017 Engineers Week_2
National Engineers Week 2017

 

Upcoming E-week events at Michigan Tech:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Tau Beta Pi
Ice cream social
Wadsworth Dining Hall

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM
Pep Band
Husky Statue

12:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Green Campus Enterprise
Rocket stove demo
outside Fisher Hall

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Mind Trekkers
Dow Atrium

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Blue Marble Security
Heart rate circuit board
EERC 722

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Railroad Engineering & Activities Club
Fisher Lobby

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Advanced Metalworks Enterprise
Foundry demo
Husky Statue

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
AIChE, Chem E Car stop reaction demo
Fisher Lobby

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
American Society of Engineering Management
Company panel
Chem Sci 101

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Engineers Without Borders
Presentation & meeting
Fisher 328

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Formula SAE
Chassis demo
MEEM Lobby

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Engineering Fundamentals,
E-week cake, stop by for a piece!
Dillman 112

12:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Green Campus Enterprise,
Winterization demo
Dow A
trium

8:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Film Board, Apollo 13
Fisher 135

 

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Zhao Group Provides Chapter on Tissue Engineered Skeletal Muscles

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Tissue Engineering and Nano TheranosticsCaleb Vogt, Mitchell Tahtinen, and Feng Zhao have provided the first chapter to a book entitled “Tissue Engineering and Nano Theranostics” (ISBN: 978-981-3149-18-2). World Scientific Publisher. 2017. The book provides a comprehensive overview of current achievements in biomedical applications of nanotechnology, including stem cell based regenerative medicine, medical imaging, cell targeting, drug delivery, and photothermal/photodynamic cancer therapy.

The chapter is “Engineering Approaches for Creating Skeletal Muscle,” and it highlights the significant impact of stem cells in skeletal muscle engineering and regeneration.

About the authors:

  • Feng Zhao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
  • Caleb Vogt and Mitchell Tahtinen were undergraduate researchers in the Zhao lab.
  • Caleb is currently in the graduate program of the University of Minnesota.
  • Mitchell is currently a master’s student in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Tech. He still conducts research in the Zhao lab.
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Budget News on H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex

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H-STEMGovernor Snyder mentioned the project during his Budget Proposal Speech on February 8, 2017.

The $39.6M complex would contribute to Human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce.

Read more at WLUC TV6, by Alyssa Barker.

Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Approves 5-year Capital Outlay Plan

The complex will support Michigan Tech’s integrated educational programs that apply engineering and science to problems related to the human condition. The University’s unique technological niche places Tech in an ideal position to contribute to human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce. The complex will permit teams of researchers and students from Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Computer Science, and Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology to work together in flexible lab spaces with shared equipment.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

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Iver Anderson Inducted into 2017 Inventors Hall of Fame

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Iver Anderson
Iver Anderson

Iver Anderson ’75, a Tech alumnus (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering) whose lead-free solder is used in virtually all cell phones, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is the son of the late Jean Anderson, a retired Michigan Tech mechanical engineering faculty member.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame, partnering with the US Patent and Trademark Office, honors the individuals whose inventions have made the world a better place and works to ensure American ingenuity continues to thrive in the hands of coming generations. Their mission is to recognize inventors and inventions, celebrate the country’s rich, innovative history, inspire creativity and advance the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

By Jenn Donovan.

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Consumer Products Day 2017 Awards

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Consumer Products Day

The second annual Consumer Products Day Finals at Michigan Tech were held Saturday. Nineteen teams of Tech students were given 20 hours and a box of materials provided by Kimberly-Clark, Amway, DOW or 3M to create, design and pitch a new consumer product. Two teams representing each company advanced to the finals, resulting in eight final products being pitched to the company reps, judges, technical review panel and audience.

A total of $7,000 was awarded to the top three teams.

1st Place: $3,300. Jade Scientific — Kimberly-Clark
Team Members: Abbey Senczyszyn, Emil Johnson, Sarah Lorenz, Josh Leon, Dominic Oldani

2nd Place: $2,400. Student Athlete Engineers — The DOW Chemical Company
Team Members: Josh Rzeppa, Keith Lemely, Quinn Kaspriak, Corey Zetizus, Sophia Farquhar

3rd Place: $1,300. Engineering World Health — 3M
Team Members: Paul Shelcusky, Anna Isaacson, Michael Gazdecki, Brett Opel

The Crowd Pleaser Award — Amway
Team Members: Nick Minarich, Ayla Vaughn, Vincent Padget

Company reps included Tech Alumni Aaron Schroeder ’12, Katie Rohlfs ’16 and Joe Gallo ’12 from The DOW Chemical Company; Kevin Madson and Ryan McInnis ’15 from 3M; Chris Heiting ’14 and Nicole Barna ’09 from Kimberly-Clark; and Sam Soyka ’12 and Andy Davies ’03 from Amway. Tony Rogers, Glen Archer, Joe Thompson, David Shonnard and Tim Eisele made up the technical review panel with Mike Morley, Brian Lagalo and Komar Kawatra serving as judges.

The event was hosted by Career Services. Student teams received additional support from the Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise, Makerspace, Brad Turner, Magann Dykema, Mary Raber, Ethan Beavers and Michael Norman.

By Career Services.

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Judges Needed for Design Expo 2017

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Design Expo JudgingDesign Expo 2017 will be held Thursday, April 13 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Save the date.

Design Expo highlights hands-on, discovery-based learning at Michigan Tech. More than 600 students on Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcase their work and compete for awards. A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty members, critique the projects. Many team projects are sponsored by industry, which allows students to gain valuable experience through competition, as well as direct exposure to real industrial problems. Design Expo is co-hosted by the College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College.

If you would like to serve as a judge at this year’s Design Expo, register as soon as possible to let us know you’re coming. Thank you for your continued support.

By Pavlis Honors College.

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